The Americans S4E05
Clark’s Place
This episode was all about lifting the lid of the pressure cooker to get some air to breath. The walls have been closing in on Philip and Elizabeth all season and they managed to keep it together (not panic) and make the right moves that only seasoned spies could.
Making it through the effects of the bio-weapon was just the start. Their absence from home was noticed by Stan and it forced Paige to lie. Elizabeth’s fever dreams changed her position on Paige being able to survive Pastor Tim’s assassination. She realizes Philip is right (although his first thought was to run for it) and they come up with a rather ingenious angle devised to sway the God-fearing couple from their dangerous “we should probably tell on the spies” idea. It’s wild seeing Elizabeth and Philip try to subtly nudge Paige into thinking and acting like a spy. There’s only so much they can do and they need their daughter to further calm down Pastor Tim and keep him close. Paige is super wary about everything and I get the sense that she does feel like she’s being manipulated. Her confusion is making her not trust any adult, but her family bonds are keeping her on her parents side (as they lie to her face about not hurting anyone).
Stan is another problem that they managed to put a patch on. First, Henry is spending way too much time with him. While he’s clueless about everything, he could say something that will get Stan’s gears working. When Oleg tells Stan that Nina was killed (that was a hell of a scene) it crushes a part of Stan’s soul. With that depressing news and his anger at Philip for “seeing” his wife, Philip had to work on getting Stan back on his good side desperately. An irate FBI agent for a neighbor is not a good thing when you are a spy and the guy is already on the trail of one of their most valuable information lines: Martha. Philip finally finds the right path when talking to Stan, it seems like it diffused him a bit.
It’s amazing Martha kept it together, although that Rx is not a good sign. Even she could smell the fishing trip Stan’s pal. They have coincidental evidence on her and the “I’m seeing a married man” lie (which kinda isn’t one) Philip told her to use bought her a few steps away from the edge. The Mother Land still wants to use keep using her like nothing’s happening but Philip knocks that one right out of the air. He’s sure Martha is being watched while no one else is and insists that they slow down and find out of sure before doing anything. She’s such a mess right now she’d be a liability anyway. Philip has talked his way into some miracles, but this one is too far gone. Loved watching Philip run a Plan B when he gets tipped off from his comrade about Martha being followed. The best offense is having the best defense. He’s kept himself in the shadows and kept the FBI from being anything more than curious about Martha. A lot of close calls.
I’m Back
Spent the last week in Los Angeles visiting family and getting my networking on for a more than likely move this year! A lot of fun and a lot to think about.
I’m behind a week now with all my responsibilities, so I have a lot to catch up on now. I’m going to skip TV reviews from last week, which I think actually accounts for The Americans since Shameless and Black Sails are over. The Walking Dead also ended but not revealing who died is some clown show levels of stupid and pointless. Fear of the Walking Dead started, but I’m not going to write about that show. House of Lies on Showtime kicked off and I need to catch that…probably won’t write about it. I’m really behind on my book and the goal is to have it finished in July so I’m going to be adjusting my work flow quite a bit.
And lest we forget! NHL Playoffs start tonight! Rangers v Penguins, this could be super rough. Pitt is favored by everyone so nothing but the A list Rangers is going to have to show up and throw down.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
This is a tough one. I’m a mark for Batman and was anxious to see this from the moment it was announced. I don’t agree with the brutal reviews, but it’s undeniable that a lot of weird choices were made to get Batman and Superman to fight. I enjoyed myself, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice could have and should have been much better. Spoilers all over the place.
I like Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Batman. I wasn’t up in arms when he was cast I think he’s one of the better ones we’ve had on screen. He fits both personas and this Batman is the fighter we’ve always wanted to see on film. The Arkham games come to life and all of his costumes look spot on. Most of his motivations work with Batman lore and follow many established stories (Batman has plans for every Justice League member in case they break bad. He trusts no one, it’s what he does). He kills a bunch of people, though. I can wave away throwing people into walls by saying “He’ll get out of a hospital eventually.” But when he guns down people in the Batplane? He should be firing smoke/gas canisters, not bullets. That car he dragged around and used as a projectile? They’re all dead. Change that so he just disables the cars out of the chase. It’s set up that he’s at wits end for going out as Batman every night for 20 years but it comes off as him being lazy. Batman doesn’t get lazy.
Superman isn’t Superman enough. I understand him at the start. His depression and being upset that his actions cause people to fear him. But he still goes out and helps everyone he can. For some reason, that emotion somehow gets rolled into anger on screen. He glowers a lot. That’s Batman’s thing, not Superman’s. He straight up threatens Batman and that justifies Batman to try and take him down. It’s heavy handed, weird and a shortcut on the writers part. There’s a lot of needless edges to the dialog, where there is any. That’s one of the major problems, there’s too much silent mean mugging going on. This sounds like a section from the D.A.R.E handbook, but Superman needed to take the ultimate high road with Batman and just refuse to fight him and explain what was going on. He clearly manhandles Batman so why not just hold him down and talk to him (I know why, the rest of the movie would have to be basically rewritten)? When he meets Batman at the Batsignal, he opens up to talk Batman down but gets annoyed (reads as angry) when he’s forced to defend himself from Batman’s first wave of offense. It’s a forced fight.
For the most part, I like Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. I’ve never been a hardcore fan of the character, but I like the general ideas and he does some downright devious stuff to get what he wants. As the general theme of this movie, not all of it is handled well. Not enough is given to his ego, jealousy, and motivation. His exposition when he talks to other characters gets into rough, overwritten and clumsy territory. In an effort to make Lex seem smart and witty, the writers came up with many esoteric lines that don’t work and are just confusing. It’s like Dennis Miller got a crack at the script for some reason. When he loses his train of thought and rambles like a nutter should have been taken out, that’s not Lex either.
Wonder Woman, on the other hand, they landed with both feet squarely on the ground. Love Gal Gadot in every scene she’s in, I wish there was more of her. She needs to talk to Batman and Superman way more! She’s amazing in action. Her entrance in battle got cheers from the audience and seeing her smile as she got back up after getting knocked down was perfect. I’m looking forward to her solo movie now.
Doomsday looked a lot better in the final film than the trailers. That whole sequence was a ton of fun. I don’t mind the ending and I really dug seeing the silver S, it’s a nice reference.
The way it stands BvS could use some simplification to bolster the best parts. Â The easiest thing to do is to streamline the first act to cut down on the jumping around. We don’t need to see the Wayne’s get killed. It’s done, everyone knows Batman’s motivation. Dump the dreams and premonitions too, they add nothing and are confusing jumps out of the story we should be focusing on. Â Tossing those dreams also means that time travel Flash in the Batcave can work better. Timing the appearance right after Bruce wakes up from a nightmare (or does he?) makes it look like another dream and you don’t know what you’re supposed to take away from it.
The moment that bonds Batman and Superman to work together doesn’t work right. The dialog just needs to be reworked (I keep coming back to this motif, don’t I?). Instead of the name “Martha” getting Bruce’s (confused) attention, doesn’t it make more sense for the downed Man of Steel to directly appeal to Bruce with “You are going to let Lex  kill my mother”? I think that’s a more elegant way to get Bruce to stop and listen.
There are big logic jumps for characters in the last act, many of which seemed like parts were edited out. Lois does things to help out that she has no way of knowing she would need to do. Lex’s less dialog does a hardcore reference to Darkseid that most people will not get. I only knew the reference because I saw an extended scene of Lex in the spaceship that was cut online. Cutting that earlier stuff could have meant having the time to leave that in. There are a lot of plot details that rely on hardcore DC comic knowledge to understand. That adds to the confusion.
Let’s lighten things up too while we’re at it. Ma Kent’s line, “I thought so. It’s the cape.” That’s great! More of that!
As much as Nolan’s movies lifted from The Dark Knight Returns, BvS went whole hog and it’s worse because of it. It uses the results of that book without the correct set up so those major themes don’t work right. An original idea could have worked much better. This should have been Batman/Superman not BvS.
As messy as it is, I did like quite a bit of this. I liked it more than Dark Knight Rises which had more than a few ponderous decisions in it.  Despite the dark pallet, a lot of this movie looks fantastic. I don’t understand why they put a dark filter over all the day scenes but that’s what they did. There are some striking comic book panels captured to film and Zack Snyder didn’t go overboard with the CG. I dig the main character themes (WW’s is amazing) by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL too.  Sure there’s wasted potential here, but there’s a lot set up by the end that I’m looking forward to. I liked seeing the introduction of the Justice League members and I’m optimistic they’ll get those solo movies right. Make these characters live and work together like they do on the page and these DC movies will take flight.
The Americans S4E03
One of the more quiet episodes, it wasn’t until the end that things really picked up. I’d call it a simmer episode with next week being the follow through.
Some things picked up:
Phillip is sort of teaching Paige how to be a spy, to gently convince someone to your favor without them knowing it. Paster Tom told his wife the secret and Phillip tells his daughter that they need to keep him close and as a friend. Tell him you’re upset but don’t bring anger into it (a line repeated by Elizabeth when Phil tells her). Paige has some luck with Tom, it looked like he was upset that he betrayed Paige’s confidence.
Philip simply wants to bounce, the heat is getting to be too much. How he’d tell their son why they are suddenly moving to Moscow would be a conversation for later I guess. Elizabeth doesn’t want to run and neither does The Center, so HQ comes up with an assassination attempt while Elizabeth and Phillip take the kids to Epcot (which recently opened). Stick with the kids the whole time and Paige might be suspicious when she finds out Tom and his wife had a fatal accident, but she’ll have enough doubt not to tip her. Phillip thinks that’s nonsense.
Stan hasn’t had a win in a while and could use one. He’s now firmly on the scent of Martha, despite the suicide set up from the premiere. Phillip has been able to keep Martha in the game for a long time and it looks like Stan has noticed the thread that will ultimately lead to his neighbor. Phillip is so busy with the virus and Paige that he has no clue about Stan (and neither does Martha).
Elizabeth is making some serious headway on becoming friends with a potential new informant (I don’t remember what kind of contacts Young Hee has, it must be her husband).
Phillip talks to Stan’s ex-wife about Stan being mad at him. He’s gotta get that monkey off his back and it seems like the best choice he could make. That window being closed might be impossible to shut very soon, though.
So with the trip to Orlando booked (congrats on getting Henry to think it’s his idea, making it an easier sale to Paige) they just need to check in with Gabriel. Holy disaster. Everything just got thrown out of the window.
Shameless S6E12 <> Season Finale
Familia Supra Gallegorious Omnia!Â
This year’s season finale was all about plateaus. Not necessarily ones that are high ground, but, at least, they are somewhat level.
Carl is manning up and making it work with Dominique (her father really).
V, Kevin, and Svetlana are…in a relationship. Maybe an awkward morning wake up, but no drama to speak of.
Lip gets called out for being an alcoholic. He’s turning into Frank and while he’s in denial, he sees it at the end. Will he fight rehab or put some effort into it?
Fiona and Debbie’s relationship is still washing up on the rocks. Fiona tries to make amends, but Debbie is not having any of it. But in the end, Debbie makes the first step into asking Fiona for help after Francis’ first check up. Her doctor tells her she can’t do this alone as Debbie and Francis both look worse for wear.
Ian with the power move to get his EMT job back! Awesome to see, the best plateau of the Gallagher’s with Carl coming in second place.
Frank goes on a mission to get back what’s his. Still in a rage over Sean, passive aggressively messes with Sean and then pushes forward with putting a hit on him. In proper manner, Frank but get’s played by the guy he gave $1000 to last episode and he’s got to come up with something else. And he does. He razes Fiona’s happiness at the altar buy telling her Sean is still using (with proof). With that stunt, the wedding is off and Fiona is again devastated and alone. The rest of the crew don’t let Frank off the hook for being a human colostomy bag and punishment is delivered in a freefall kind of way. Great closure to the season with the family moving closer and Frank shoved back outside. He won’t be sleeping in the house anymore. Hope it was worth it Frank!
Shameless S6E11
Sleep No More
Gallagher’s Assemble!
Here’s a surprise, Ian lying on a job application didn’t pass the background check. Sucks, this will probably create a spiral.
Just when you think Lip has bounced back, it just turns out that he was sailing through the air only to land in a different part of the gutter.
V, Svetlana and Kev take their relationship to a new level! The credit roll sequence was really funny.
Now to on to the meat of the episode. Frank tries to make amends and be more of an actual father figure. He’s bummed from missing Francis’ birth and decides that doubling down on Fiona’s wedding is the way to go. Since he only knows how to scam to make money (everything is a scam with him really) his Shameless ways get exposed at the end and Sean puts his foot down. Frank is way stronger than he looks!
Debbie is caught on the bottom of this. She’s completely overwhelmed by the infant and she holds on to her grudge with Fiona to near disastrous results. Frank has been in good graces with Debbie for a while now, but that just went out the window when she found out he extorted Derek’s parents. Who thought being a single teenage mom would be so tough?
I know Frank is pissed he screwed the pooch and the whole family turned on him because of it, but this potential retaliation is extreme by even Shameless standards. What’s going to happen…next week, the season finale!
The Hateful Eight
The poster above is perfect for this movie. It makes complete sense after you’ve watched it. I consider myself a casual fan of Quentin Tarantino, I can live without most of his material and completely dig a few of his others. The Hateful Eight gets added to the dig pile.
It’s not long after the Civil War and it’s the dead of winter in Wyoming. A bounty hunter, John Ruth, is traveling with a catch, Daisy Domergue, to Red Rocks to claim his reward. En route he picks up two stranded men (another bounty hunter and the new sheriff of Red Rocks) and they have to take shelter in a cabin to make it through a blizzard. When the travelers get there, they meet and must withstand a few suspicious characters.
Because this is a QT picture, you can expect a few things: memorable characters (played by many returning actors that QT loves), a ton of dialog (180-minute runtime), a killer soundtrack, a whole lotta mayhem and even more cursing. This move thrives entirely by its cast.
While the entire cast if fantastic, the showstoppers for me are Jennifer Jason Leigh (Daisy Domergue, love this name!) and Walton Goggins (Chris Mannix). JJL is absolutely amazing, she might be remembered most for this role from here on out. Transformative is the only word I can think of. She’s unrecognizable as this hell raiser. Just her facial expressions during the carriage ride at the beginning should have won her an Acadamy Award. A lot of credit to Kurt Russell (John Ruth) too as they work off each other a lot and have a symbiosis that’s only matched later by Goggins and Sam L. Jackson. Walton Goggins knocked my socks off every week in Justified and it’s clear that QT was too because he’s perfectly cast for this role. The way he delivers lines is just something else. I can’t describe how well he works on screen, you just have to see it.
QT and his DP went nuts on this movie as it’s a real looker. Much was made about filming on 70mm and the biggest takeaway from that is how wide the frame is. As most of the movie takes place in the cabin, QT gets a huge amount of the set in one frame and he works his blocking around it. He fits a lot of important things in the entire frame, but it also remains very spartan looking at the same time (the lighting work in this movie is incredible, it’s like a character itself). There’s usually big spacing between characters and he’ll move the camera a bit to the left or right for reveals and he uses the depth of the set to great effect as well. I can think of two scenes that use some ingenious rack focusing to wordlessly tell a plot and build suspense. The camera may be stationary, but the scene and story move as the focus changes back and forth from someone in the background to someone in the foreground. Brilliant stuff.
I thought the first 20 minutes was a little slow while the last hour flew by. I’m not sure how well this will hold up to repeated viewings, but it’s a hell of a ride. It really took me by surprise. I loved how it went from a travel movie into a claustrophobic whodunnit. I was also not expecting that I was going to laugh like a maniac. The characters and what they do are absolutely nuts. So much caught me off guard that it made me scream in delight. Just about everything Marquis Warren does is epic, the trash talking that Daisy does, Mannix’s reactions and with crack with every single line. I can’t recall a movie I’ve seen recently with such unique, defined and enthralling collection of characters.
Be forewarned! This picture gets intense! There is some intense violence and QT rolls around in the blood once it’s on the ground. I think this is a love it or hate it movie, but I for one loved it.
Black Sails S3E10 <> Season Finale
What a great season finale! The writers of this show are masters of setting up the pins, knocking then down and then setting them up for next year.
There were so many great moments that it’s hard to keep track of them all. From the dialog to the non-linear storytelling and the often breathtaking direction and production.
“You, they trust above any of us. Not to betray for money.”
“The irony was not lost on us.”
The night before the battle, Rackham, Flint and Silver are burying the treasure somewhere on hideout island. After Rackham goes to join Anne to handle their part of the plan, we get to watch a brilliant conversation between Flint and Silver that is woven through the entire episode. This night scene contains some of my favorite dialog in the season and touches on some great character growth that sprouts as the battle unfolds. Each section they show is better than the last. I feel dumb for not seeing how much Flint has rubbed off on Silver until it was laid out in front of me.
And then there is the battle! England taking the beach, jungle and fort fights, sea warfare, it’s got it all. Layers of pirate subterfuge to take on a much bigger invading force! Anna Bonny back on the hunt and strutting her stuff!
And then there is the movement led by Billy Bones back at Nassau! The amount of stealthy, smart and daring spy work is only matched by The Americans. The note that plants the seed, the surprise murder and the creation of a new boogyman for England in the place of Vane’s death. The planning that came together is simply delicious.
I love when Rackham is right. His vindication for how smart he is spits in the face of all the people that think he’s nothing but a pine-riding rookie. His time with Blackbeard is some of the best scenes for Rackham. The reflection of how bad he wants to be seen and revered like Blackbeard is fantastic. He’s got the confidence, but nowhere near the experience. Their pasts and futures are tied together because of Charles Vane. As Rackham discusses his new-found trust of Blackbeard with Anne, the only other person he loves and cares for:
“I will say this for him: in recent weeks, among the disturbing number of people who have tried to kill one, or the both of us, he is not among them. If Charles was in some sense a son to him and Charles was in some sense a brother to us, I couldn’t tell you what that makes us to him. But it’s something. Perhaps.”
“Gun crews at the ready!”
“See you on the other side.”
“Always.”
How beautiful is that? And then cannon balls go flying? This show rules.
Silver’s ascension is so cool and artfully done. Along with the parallels of Rackham and Blackbeard, there’s Silver and Madi. His conversation with Madi about her mother, The Maroon Queen, letting her go on the front lines is exemplary:
“She let me go because she knows if we survive this battle today, she will likely need to step aside. And make room for someone better suited to do what must be done.”
“It’s a hard thing to look your successor in the eye and know that their time is nearing while yours is almost through. But as far as successors go, your mother could to far worse.”
Finally, Horigold gets outclassed and the English do a 180 on their redcoats so fast they leave their dumb wigs behind as they flee. Captain Flint proves once more that he his immortal.
“Tell your governor! You tell him that I’m coming!”
The last scene is basically poetry in motion. Max’s narration of reading the note to the shellshocked English. Bone’s narration about the revolution  going after Eleanor as Silver, Rackham, Blackbeard, Madi and Flint sit down at their table. Artful storytelling. I can’t wait for season 4.
…until then I remain. Long John Silver.
The Americans S4E02
Pastor Tim
This was a bumpy one for Elizabeth and Phillip. First, they’ve got a crazy bioweapon in their house and it’s taking forever to get it out. Phillip takes the mission to get it out of the country and good lord does it go sideways. Not a good night and the weight of being a spy is beginning to crush Phillip. I don’t know what kind of shape he’s going to be in by the end of the season.
Elizabeth keeps tabs on Paige and discovers that she told Pastor Tim everything. Just when you think having the plague tucked away in your laundry room is a problem, your daughter rats on you. Elizabeth rightly freaks out and wants to go on the offensive…PT has got to go. Phillip is beside himself already and warns her to slow down so she takes recon on her own and comes up with a workable plan to nix PT that will take the both of them to pull off.
You can cut the tension with a knife in the Jenner household but never forget that ignorance is bliss. Henry has no clue that anything is amiss. In fact, he invites Stan over to check out his sweet new computer (that the motherland actually got him). The problem that emerged between Stan and Phillip last episode remains on “simmer.”
Nina defies her handlers again. She was close to being free (maybe, they might have just thrown her down a well anyway) and she’s cursed herself again. I like Nina a lot, the woman has her convictions and I respect that.
Paige is a bright girl and her parent’s secret is eating her up. She confides in PT because of that and feels tremendous guilt over it. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Whenever she talks to her mother, she’s given very basic info. Yes, she knows they’re spies, but no specifics. Just “work” involving “talking” and “convincing” people. With a guilty conscience, a gut full of worry and being a crappy secret keeper, Paige confesses to Elizabeth that she told PT everything. Just in time too, although I don’t think she really knows what her confession did. Mission aborted. Â For now, anyway.
Based On Actual Events
Johnny Depp really struts his stuff in this one. As notorious mobster. James “Whitey” Bulger, Depp runs with the devil (and a few hours worth of top notch prosthetic make up). Whitey came up as a small-town criminal in South Boston in the 70’s and with the help of the FBI, became one of the most dangerous men in American organized crime well into the 90’s. That line about the FBI is what makes this story so interesting. While the extent of how far up the chain the FBI knew about how John Connelly was handling his “informant,” Whitey paid off a ton of people to let him do his thing. It wasn’t until Whitey’s dealings got too big for him to wrangle that made everything collapse in on him, forcing him to run for almost two decades.
Black Mass has a lot going for it (great cast) and if you dig mob stories, this one is for you. Pretty rough in the cursing and violence department.
Why does something like Spotlight have to exist? The 2001-2002 story of The Boston Globe doing an expose on the rampant pedophile coverup of the Catholic Archdiocese going back to the 60’s. Over the years, events would come to light about a priest molesting children in their congregation. These “bad apples” were said to be nothing more than anomalies, would be appropriately handled and don’t represent the Catholic Church. The offender would disappear and everyone would move on.
But the offender wouldn’t disappear. They were moved to another church in direct contact with children, free to attack again. When they got found out, the church would settle things with the family privately (i.e. out of court) and the monster would be moved again.
What started out as 1 repeated name quickly turned into 4…then 13…then 87. Through diligent and expert investigative reporting, the men and woman of “The Spotlight” section of The Boston Globe blew the doors off a horrific worldwide epidemic that was known and hidden by a shocking amount of people. Evil was allowed to not only fester, but grow in an institution that is supposed to be sacred and represent the best of humanity. It’s completely nuts how these monsters weren’t reported to the police the moment it was reported. Let this nugget really blow your mind:. a few months after this blew up publicly, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, the man central to the cover-up of hundreds of ruined lives and the protection of dozens of maniacs, resigned as the Archbishop of Boston in December 2002. Two years later, this man who you can really trust,  was given a promotion by Pope John Paul II to become the Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome in 2004. He retired at the age of 80 in 2011. Ugh.
This is some mindboggling stuff. Everyone agrees that 1) Rape is heinous and 2) so is pedophilia. So how the hell does stuff like this get let go? Stamp it out the second it appears. Everyone wins! Many rational human beings knew this was happening and let it go buy them with a pat on the back. Some jerk in a fancy smock is going to feel awkward about explaining what’s going on so let’s not bring it up? Preach against the devil but you got demons running around your own house and think it’s OK?
Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention, the movie is good.
Shameless S6E10
Paradise Lost
An episode of new beginnings for the Gallaghers. Let us discuss!
Ian continues on a good path and passes his EMT test with flying colors. When he sees an intrusive question on the job application, Ian’s boyfriend urges him to lie (their relationship is going well).
Sean and Fiona move in together and the wedding plans are underway. Second time’s the charm for everyone. Fun times at the male review ensue.
Sean and Fiona move in together and the wedding plans are underway. Second time’s the charm for everyone. Fun times at the male review ensue.
Everyone’s in a great relationship now. Young love with Carl and Dominique means Carl gets another try at making a good impression with her father, the cop. He had a steep hole to dig himself out of after their first meeting.”I don’t even know why she likes me. But as long as she does, I’m going to do whatever she asks. Even if it means spending a day with her asshole father.” Things didn’t go well the first time so he had a big hill to climb. It goes well and we have another inspired Gallagher, “I think I want to be a cop!”
Kevin is still stupidly mad about V and Svet’s fake gay marriage. They wisely do this b-plot in quick, digestible scenes.
Frank rips through another community, it’s like he’s the destroyer of worlds. He should have a comic book with all the destruction he creates. He gets some of the best scenes this week, everything he did was great. He gets challenged (and wins), gets all sorts of benefits from that, turns Queenie’s own nonsense into a jealous rage and manages to stand by Debbie…until he gets kidnapped. But he finds a way out in the most Frank way possible. Cue the end of his relationship with Queenie, it was fun while it lasted. Side note: Chuckie is alive?
Lip slides down the shame hill and where does he land? Back at home. Just in time too…
A new Gallagher has entered the world! Debbie had a rough episode (to say the least), but the birth was pretty beautiful (Francis?!) and that dig at Fiona at the end was a Shameless bullet point.